We are pleased to announce that we have been selected by Northampton Borough Council to provide this year’s SWEP (Severe Weather
Emergency Protocol) for the town. In partnership with NAASH and NBC we will be opening our doors to ensure that there is a warm and safe place
for homeless people to sleep when temperatures drop below 0°c on 3 consecutive nights.
A team of qualified staff and volunteers will run the facility, which will be based here at the Hope Centre. The NBC Outreach Worker will refer clients
and by working together with current users of the Hope Centre plus posters around the town we will ensure that all rough sleepers are made aware of the
facility and no-one needs to spend the night outside.
If you are interested in volunteering at the SWEP then please email richard@northamptonhopecentre.org.uk or theresa@naash.co.uk for full details.

sleepout 2012
Our biggest and most popular fundraiser is the annual Sleepout that is always during
Poverty and Homelessness Action Week in late January/early February. We wanted to make
sure that you had plenty of notice to get ready for the 2012 Sleepout so please put it in your diary
now....it will give you something to look forward to after Christmas!
There has been a Sleepout at the Hope Centre for many years, it is a popular way for
homeless charities to raise awareness and funds. In 2009 Kate Bellamy revived the Sleepout
and you helped us to raise an amazing £5,000. In 2010 this grew to over £8,000 and in 2011
more than £12,000!
So we have big hopes for 2012....can you help us to make it to £18,000? That would pay for a
full time member of staff for a whole year to work with our clients, helping them to break the cycle of
homelessness, addiction, unemployment and poverty. Imagine the difference that would make to so
many lives!
All you have to do is email debbie@northamptonhopecentre.org.uk to confirm that you would
like to take part. We will send you a ‘Sleeper’s Pack’ which includes all the info you need on getting
sponsorship, what to wear etc.

01604 602456

call Debbie on

If your company, sports club or organisation would like to know more
about sponsorship opportunities on our website or publicity materials
please get in touch.

Sponsorship opportunities

Please, please join us and bring a friend too. 50 sleepers raised £12,300 so just think what 80
could raise! Can you help us get to £18,000?
If you can’t come along then please sponsor us at:www.justgiving.com/sleepout2012
Help spread the word......email us for a poster that you can print and put up at your church, school,
work, corner shop, community centre – you get the idea!
Friday 3rd February 2012. 6pm – 6am. - St Giles Church Yard, St Giles Terrace, Northampton

Be part of our team...
If it wasn’t for the willing team of volunteers, we would cease to function.
If you are interested in getting involved,

call Sarah on

01604 602456

quarterlyquote... byRalphWaldoEmerson

www.northamptonhopecentre.org.uk

“ What lies behind us and what lies
before us are tiny matters compared
to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist,
lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.

achievement and looking forward to a better future.
As usual we will be here on Christmas Day serving turkey and all the
trimming to around 90 people who would otherwise be alone. The centre
will be full of laughter, friendship, crackers, gifts and too many brussel
sprouts.....just like many homes across Northampton!
This would not be possible without your generous support this
Christmas and throughout the year. With your help we need to raise
£24,000 to meet the costs of being here over Christmas and throughout
the cold winter months.

£10 could pay for a homeless person to have Christmas dinner and not be alone this Christmas
£25 could cover the cost of an ex homeless person learning how to cook for themselves at one of our cookery workshops
£50 will help us to run a weekly chiropody clinic to take care of the feet of street drinker and rough sleepers who are at high risk of
serious foot disease

Welcome to our special Christmas edition of Oasis. Christmas is a
happy celebration for most of us – a special time with family and friends,
Christmas lights twinkling, mince pies, the anticipation of advent and finally
The Day arrives. We celebrate the arrival in church and in our homes.
Sadly it’s not the same for everyone. For our clients it can be lonely, cold
and depressing. It brings back memories of better times and it can be hard
to deal with those memories.
But this Christmas Oasis is not about how difficult Christmas will be
for some people this year. It’s about hope and happiness, success and
•
•
•

If you are able to help us please donate whatever you can at

www.justgiving.com/christmashope2011 or text XMAS66 £amount to 70070

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Once you donate, they send your money directly to us and make sure

Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate, saving time and cutting costs for us.
Donating via text is free and the amount you donate will show on your next mobile phone bill.

It’s about hope and happiness
and looking forward to a better future

Help others this christmas
Become a fan of the Hope Centre on Facebook!

What does the future hold for you?
I sometimes wonder if God had a purpose of me being so low so I
could help others in this position. I consider myself a fallen, wayward
Christian, I haven’t been to church for years but I have never lost my faith. I
sit at Streetchurch sometimes and wonder if He meant this to happen.
So maybe I’m just where I’m meant to be.

around people 24 hours a
day. On the streets and
in the night shelter
you’re never on
your own so I
struggled going
back to an
empty flat at
first.
One
night I was
sitting outside
with a group of
people and I
just realised I
could choose to
sit there and stay in
that life or I could fight
to get a real life back. I
decided to fight and I sorted my
flat out and started looking for work
again. Coming here through the year really helped because I was treated
like a normal person with responsibilities so I felt more able to deal with
things.
What was the high point of this year?
I really wanted to get out of the trap of my life and get back to my old
normal life. So when I got a job in October, as a cleaner in a school, I just
felt ecstatic, like I was finally back on the ladder and getting somewhere. I
will never take things for granted again, I used to think people who were not
working were lazy and should just get a job but now I have a new way of
thinking. One of the goals I set myself was to find work and be able to buy
Christmas presents for my kids and it feels brilliant to have finally got there.
How do you feel this Christmas compared to last Christmas?
I can’t really compare how I feel now to how I felt then, it’s hard to put it
into words. A year ago I was about to get my own place but I had no real
hope and no direction, my life was like a maze with lots of dead ends. I’ve
got a purpose now, things to get up for in the morning. I’ve got myself
back, there’s housework to do and shopping, bills to pay, I’ve got my work
and I feel like I’m helping other people again.

‘Christmas is my
worst time of year’
How and when did you first become homeless?
I became officially homeless in December 2009. I had been in a 6 year
relationship that came to a sudden and quite violent end. I ended up in the
police cells for Christmas and had to wait for a friend to provide a remand
address. It was a really tough time and Christmas is my worst time of year
now. I was lucky to have a couple of good friends who let me stay on their
sofa for a while, but it’s hard because you don’t want to intrude on their
family life so I just tried to stay out all day and only go back there to sleep.
What was your life like before?
I had a good life before all this, when I look back now I realise how
much I took for granted. I always had everything I needed, a nice place to
stay, a car, a regular job – the same as we all want really. I worked for
nearly 20 years in care homes caring for elderly people with dementia, I
really loved my work and my life.
What was your lowest point?
After a while I couldn’t put my friends out anymore and I started living in
my car. My lowest point was the night I realised that I was going to have to
sleep in my car. Soon after that I lost my job as a carer because I couldn’t
even look after myself properly, trying to get a shower was hard and it was
obvious I was sleeping in my clothes. Being NFA (no fixed abode) I got
turned down for loads of jobs so in the end I gave up looking. That was
when I felt like I’d lost everything and that was when I started drinking more
and hanging around on the streets because I didn’t have anything else to
do. Not being able to buy Christmas or Birthday presents for my family
was a really low point too.
How did coming to the Hope Centre help?
I heard about the Hope Centre from some friends I met on the streets. I
had been trying to get help from different places but I just felt like I was
being passed around and no-one was really helping. I started using the
Hope Centre just to get a cup of tea and something to eat to start with. But
then they started to try and persuade me to get involved in different things
like art and cookery. I wasn’t that interested to begin with but I tried some
of the activities and it did take my mind off my problems. I’ve been
encouraged to go to some self help and confidence building courses with
others from the Centre. This has helped me no end in my thinking, I think
more positive and I set goals now.
When did you start to turn things around?
In September 2010 I got a bed at the night shelter and a couple of
months later I was asked to be a Client Representative at the Hope
Centre. I felt as if I was responsible for other people again and that helped
me to cut down on the drinking a bit. In January 2011 the night shelter
found me a flat and so I felt things were starting to look up.
What has 2011 been like for you?
Well it was better than 2010 but it’s still been really hard. Moving into
my new place was good but I felt lonely because I was so used to being

As Julie’s’s story shows, homelessness can happen to anyone. It does not discriminate. To ensure we are here this Christmas and throughout
the year to help people like Julie put their lives back together, please consider making a donation or setting up a regular donation...
You can now donate online or by text at

www.justgiving.com/christmashope2011 or text XMAS66 £amount to 70070

donate

inside spread

on2011

look back

at the hope centre

January – In January volunteers braved the cold
for The Hope Centre’s annual sleepout.

February – We had a Hollywood themed day with
a red carpet, feather boas and plenty of fun
and games.

March – We attended weekly outdoor activity
sessions at the Frontier Centre.